Oh What a Tangled Web
by briongloid
Summary: To Lily and her bestfriends Life is one big party. They have everything they could ever dream of, until Jess and her friends decide to knock down the lives the girls have built up with their good looks and lies.
1. Recovering from the night before

The hottest summer England had ever seen was finally coming to a close. It was a good 100 degrees outside, but inside Grace Murphy's summer mansion it was a cool 68. The house staff was dressed in their winter uniform, and the pets had all their fur still on. Grace had been up since 6 that morning, packing all of her things that she would need for her sixth year at Hogwarts. She hated sleep, it scared her. Just laying there for hours doing absolutely nothing was the exact opposite of her always energetic personality. I start my sixth year today, crazy. Grace thought to herself. She was amazed that her friends had made it that far. They were young, and had tried a lot of things. Drugs, drinking, sex, it was all apart of their life now. They had been through everything together; divorces, eating disorders, cutting, it was a crazy life, but Grace wouldn't have it any other way.

She made her way throughout the empty house taking it all in. She loved the last day of summer. It meant that she would soon be going home, to the place where she was actually loved and felt protected. Here, in this house, was more like a place to sleep and be waited on by people who were paid to love you. She hadn't seen her mother in about three months, and her father had dropped the occasional owl with some money which she really didn't need. That was her parents' way of showing their love… money. Grace had everything that anyone could want. Her bedroom was about the size of five rooms put together; her closet was the old dining room along with the walk in that was in her room. She hadn't gotten a pony when she turned six, she got nine of them. Grace had never wanted for anything, well almost anything. She looked out the window and sighed, the one thing she had ever wanted was for someone to give her a hug and say that they loved her, and mean it. She had heard it from boyfriends who just wanted to get into bed with her, and from the kids at school who just wanted to be seen with her. It wasn't enough though; there was an empty whole in her heart where family love was supposed to be. As she approached her bedroom door three hours later, she felt a warm feeling starting to stir in her stomach. There was a family that was trying to fill that hole, her best friends.

She opened the double French doors that led to her bedroom and laughed at the sight before her. Bella DeLuca was sprawled out across the king sized bed in the corner of the room with drool pouring out of her mouth. Bella had a very rough night, the girls hadn't gotten home from James Potter's annual end of summer bash until around 4 that morning, and Grace was guessing that she was still feeling the affects of the excessive drinking that had gone on. There had been a 35 cup beiruit tournament and Grace and Bella had run the table. Grace walked over to Bella with a cup of coffee and was about to wake her when she saw the massive hickey on Bella's neck, and squealed a very loud girly squeal.

"Oui Grace what the hell," Bella mumbled as she buried her head into her pillow. "Close the damn shades."

"I would but then I wouldn't be able to see the massive hickey that is forming on your neck mate. Who'd you snog behind my back last night?" Grace laughed as the words hickey and snog sunk into her friends mind. Bella jumped up, a little to fast for her body since she had to grab onto the bed side table to balance her self, and ran over to the mirror.

"Oh my God! It's huge! What the hell. You were supposed to watch me last night." Bella turned around as she screamed at Grace. Grace laughed taking in her friend. Bella, whose real name was Isabella, was about 5'5, skinny with tan skin, brown eyes, and deep brown hair. She was basically the mirror image of Grace and her three friends except for the fact that they all had a different hair color. "On second thought, I don't really care, just enough yelling" Bella said, mainly to herself because Grace hadn't said a word since Bella had woken up. Grace silently handed Bella her coffee and began to make her bed.

"You know that is what a maid is for right?" Bella asked in a snobbish tone that she never meant to come out, but it usually did.

"She didn't sleep in it did she? I told them to take a few hours off since we woke them all up so early this morning. How you feeling anyway? We got a train to catch in about two hours so you'd better hurry up and pack."

Bella ignored the first comment about the maids. She never really understood how Grace was so nice to them, even the house elves at school. Bella was raised to think that the paid help was to be seen not heard, and that you were their masters, they did what you told them to, but not Gracie. Bella gave her friend the same up and down look that she had just received. "You had more to drink than I did last night, and don't think I didn't see that coke in your nose. How the hell do you manage to look like that?" Bella couldn't believe that her friend who was lighter and shorter than all of the others who had attended James' bash last night, could out drink and basically out party anyone there, and still look perfect the next morning. But that was Grace. Bella had decided that Graces new nickname was going to be little miss sunshine, because really she was. Grace had so many inner demons, but she never let them show. No one could really understand how a 5'1 person could have so much personality. She was easily one of the two most talented witches at Hogwarts, (only matched by her best mate Lily Evans) and came from the wealthiest family in all of Europe, but she didn't parade it around the way Bella and some of the others did. Always talking and bouncy, Grace knew how to put people in a good mood. Guys couldn't get enough of her, and most girls couldn't either. She was beautiful, inside and out. She was a model and had the model body, but was an athlete and didn't mind having a few muscles. Blonde hair, blue and green eyes, tan skin, every guy wanted her, and every girl wanted to be her. It was a stupid cliché Bella thought, but it was one that fit Grace perfectly. She had her secrets though, some that not even Bella knew. Bella knew about the eating disorder and the drug habits, along with the drinking. But she was sure that almost everyone knew about the last two. People expected that kind of rebellious behavior from rich kids, how else were they supposed to be noticed?


	2. The Fab 5

"Sweetheart…" Eliza, Grace's personal house elf, broke Bella's thoughts and brought her back to the reality that they were going to be leaving shortly and she had to get all of her stuff together.

"Yea Liza?" Grace asked not even looking up from her cauldron which she was checking to make sure all of her potions supplies were all inside.

"Edgar wanted to know which car you wanted for the ride there so that he can polish it up" Edgar was Grace's driver and was very protective of his employer so he rarely ever let her drive anywhere. Grace rolled her eyes and told Eliza that which ever Edgar chose would be fine. Eliza thanked her and told the girls to be ready to leave in about half an hour. Bella felt the hangover being lifted from her body and turned to see Grace with wand raised.

"I felt bad, couldn't let you suffer anymore." Grace laughed as Bella threw her pillow at Grace and then returned to packing. Grace was always coming up with useful spells to cure the average teenage maladies and the hangover remover was one that was used on her friend quite often. The girls finished packing and three of the house elves carried down their belongings. Just as they were entering the car Bella noticed a small tear roll down Grace's cheek. She knew better than to ask what was wrong, she had been thinking it too. She didn't know why it hurt them so much that their parents weren't there to say goodbye, but it did. She wrapped her arm around her friend and whispered "Let's go home"

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Grace and Bella said goodbye to Edgar as they pulled into the parking lot at King's Cross. Eliza would be accompanying Grace to Hogwarts and would stay on as a member of the house elf staff. No one knew how Grace had managed to get Dumbledore to allow Eliza to stay with them, but her friends were sure it was just another secret that she had boarded up inside of her. They crossed through the barrier at platform nine and three quarters with their trunks on a trolley which Eliza insisted on pushing. As soon as they passed through the same warm feeling was beginning to stir in Grace's stomach that had aroused earlier. The Hogwarts Express stood before her, in all of its glory ready to take them back. She stole a look around and saw all the Hogwarts students looking bored and embarrassed as their moms gave them a kiss or their dads gave them a handshake while pulling them into a hug.

"I would kill for that". Grace whispered to herself as she snuck out a tiny silver flask from the pocket of her coat and took a long sip, after a quick toast to the school year that was about to start.

"Wow mate couldn't even wait until we made it onto the train?" Grace was startled at the voice that was coming from behind her, but recognized it instantly. She turned and their was another member of the Fab 5, the horrible nickname Grace and her friends had been given during their third year. Charolette Emma Hanover, better known as Emma, stood there with a sly smile on her face arms stretched wide waiting for her friend to enter them. They had seen each other the night before, but the five of them apart for more than six hours was something that none of them liked to do. Emma had recovered nicely from the night before, but Grace vaguely remembered her being to busy with her boyfriend last night to do much drinking. Grace stepped back and looked at her friend. Her hair, beautiful and her deep brown hair was thrown up in a pony tail and her 5'2 fame was covered in tight ripped jeans and a lace tank top that showed off her curves. Emma was the socialite of the group. She was a relative of the Queen (not many knew that half of the Queen's family was magical but the lineage could be placed to the beginning of the Windsor rule) She enjoyed going to the parties thrown by her parents and their friends and could not wait to marry her rich boyfriend Thomas and start a family. She fit the cliché of dumb-blonde perfectly, all she needed was the hair to match her personality, and she didn't care. She had been betrothed to her boyfriend since she was five and never had to work at anything. To her life was easy, and anything or anyone that got in the way of that easiness was just not important to her.

"I decided to get a head start on the Marauders party, a really good head start. Don't look at me like that, you know you want some." Grace, Bella, and Emma started to laugh, and continued to laugh as girls do as the last two members of their group walked up to them. 

"Want to share with the rest of us?" Riley ó Briain (O'Brien) questioned as her and Lily approached the group.

"Bella is probably making fun of that poor first years outfit Riles." Lily Evans laughed as she pointed to a first year dressed in striped suspenders. "Poor kid, he better get on the train before the boys see him" The group laughed as the five pulled one another into a hug and squeezed tight, like they hadn't seen each other in weeks. Lily pulled back first and fixed her jean mini skirt, and ran a hand through her red hair. She then proceeded to fix a fly away strand atop of Riley's dirty blonde head. Lily had on a respectable green sweater on that had just a bit two low-cut in the front. 99 of her clothing had a little bit of green in it seeing as how the color brought out her pale skin and deep emerald eyes. Lily had a temper and wasn't afraid to show it, even if it meant on the other girls. Lily hated having money. She, like their friend Sirius believed that inherited money was a joke. They hadn't done anything to earn it so why should they reap the benefits of it. Lily had accepted it was her way of life and just went with it for now, but as soon as she graduated and got herself a job she vowed to never use her family's money…except for emergencies.

"Sweetheart you couldn't have changed?" Emma laughed as she took in Riley's appearance. The 5'1 wild child was still in her clothes from the night before; a tight, hot pink, custom made Chanel dress with tall black Jimmy Choo stilettos. The outfit paired with her tanned skin and a pair of Prada sunglasses made her look like a Barbie, and she knew it. Riley was the girl who didn't give a damn. Her family came from a long line of Irish nobles and she could care less about living up to her family's high standards. They didn't care about coming home to see her at their summer house in England, why should she care about pleasing them. All she cared about was having a good time. Although she was fifth in the class, behind only Lily, Grace, Sirius, and James, she hated school. She had no idea what she wanted to do at the end of next year and frankly didn't care. To her life was too short to think about any day but the present.

"You're lucky I even made it here to the train. I passed out in James' pool house last night, and Lily here was the only one concerned enough about me to look for me." Riley put on her pout that could make anyone agree with her or do what she wanted, except for her friends.

"Shut up and let's get on the train, and get you changed you look like a wreck." Bella pushed her friend towards the train and the rest followed. They were a beautiful group of girls who truly did care for one another. They all had twisted and fucked up lives but that was fine, that had each other. But each one kept their secrets. There were secrets about family, crushes, insecurities, and so much more. They each had their own web of lives that was perfectly constructed; one false move ad their whole lives could unravel.


	3. The Debs

Just as the five where entering the train Jessica Scott and her friends Keira, Chloe, and Madeline stepped onto the platform where the five had just stood. They were known as the Debs at school. Jessica had decided on the nickname when they were in third year and let it slip to a first year boy, hoping he would spread it around the school. Jessica had once been a member of the Fab 5 that is before Lily Evans took her place. Jess had known Grace and Bella since they were little, and had expected to rule the school with them, the same way they had done in their elementary prep school. Their first year had been great and by the time their second year started, Jess was finally starting to make a name for her self instead of living in Grace and Bella's shadow. That's when Grace met Lily Evans at a slug club party. The two of them were the only second years invited and Lily was sitting in the corner by herself. Grace, being the least shy person ever, had entranced everyone who was at the party and excused herself when she saw the pretty redhead sitting all by herself. They started talking and Grace quickly fell in love with the girl. She had seen her walking around the school by herself, but didn't know all that much about her. Grace invited Lily to eat breakfast with them the next morning, and Jess was shocked to come down and see some other girl sitting in her place to the right of Grace. That was the beginning of the phase out and soon Jess was the one walking around on her own.

That is until she met Keira, Chloe, and Maddie. The three girls that Jess had once made fun of had quickly become her only friends. They weren't popular but Jess was determined to make her way back to the top, and she was bringing her new best friends along for the ride. It was a drastic change for Keira and Chloe who really didn't care much about wealth or popularity, but they were having fun. Madeline, however, took some convincing. Maddie was Riley's twin sister and hated the way her sister lived. Although they looked exactly alike, it was the only trait that the twins shared. Maddie was shy, and did not like to be a part of the social circuit that her sister and parents belonged to. Maddie was happy to have been placed in Hufflepuff with the rest of the Debs, away from her sister, and away from the drama. Since the four of them were in Hufflepuff they worked their way through that house first. Jess knew that since the fab 5 were in Gryffindor there were no hopes of taking over that house. Gryffindor's stood together and they were all around those girls 24/7 so there was no real need to even try. But after a few months and a few batting of the eyelashes, the girls were on top right along side the fab 5. Soon everyone knew who the girls were, they weren't used to all of the attention but they were getting used to it, and liked it.

"Did you see Grace already chugging away?" Keira sneered. She hated the little miss perfect who had the whole school, well the whole world wrapped around her tiny finger.

"Not like it matters though, she'll probably just throw it up anyway." The Debs knew about Grace's eating disorder, but since Jessica had been through that along with Emma, Jess decided that the eating disorder was the one thing that could not be used against the other girls. Anything else was fine, as long as they didn't get caught spreading the rumors. Bella had spread rumors about them once they had regained the popularity that Jessica had once held, so they thought it was only fair that they spread some back.

"Aw leave her alone Jess, she hasn't done anything to you." Maddie quietly said. Maddie didn't have a problem with Grace, or Emma. She hated Lily on principle, and the other two were complete snobs who only though of themselves. Grace and Emma had always gone out of their way to make everyone comfortable at Hogwarts. Emma had always put put the Marauders in their place when they made fun of Chloe a few years ago. No one had control over those boys like they did, no matter how much Jess tried, they would never be hers.


	4. Fan Base

"Come on girls, we still need to get a compartment. I doubt there is any left since somebody had to do their hair 18 times before we could leave." Chloe gave a pointed look towards Jess. She couldn't really believe her friend sometimes. Chloe looked at Jess in her designer cloths and laughed at the 5'5 brunette. They were complete opposite. Jess was spoiled and rich, and Chlo barely could rub two galleons together. But the debs were all a little mismatched. They didn't have the same personality or style, but that was what made them unique. Jess coming to the group had changed things a lot, but in a good way. The three girls hadn't changed themselves, but the way people saw them had changed. It seemed that overnight they went from being the kids who were walked all over in school, to people actually recognizing them. Chloe never thought that she would want to be popular, but now that she had a taste of it, she couldn't get enough.

"Oh shut up Chlo, if you hadn't taken so bloody long to wake up in the shower, I wouldn't have gotten such a late start" Jessica fired back. The girls had thrown a party themselves last night, since the invite from James Potter was clearly lost in the mail, and were still a little tired from it all. Maddie sighed as she watched Jess flip out on Chloe. Maddie knew that Jess was upset that they hadn't been invited to James' party, but the fab5 were going to be there, and the two groups together usually didn't mix well. It wasn't that they would fight with each other, but it was hard for people to decide which group they wanted to hang out with, and when it came to the Marauders, the Fab5 usually won. Mostly because James was infatuated with Lily, and that Grace had been best friends with Remus since they were two. Sirius was a tricky one; no one could really figure him out. Maddie had been receiving letters from him all summer, but hadn't told anyone because she knew how jealous Jess would get. Jess hated not being the center of attention, and if she couldn't have the boy of her dreams, then no one else could. Hogwarts' worst kept secret was that Jess had a crush on James Potter. James however, had always been Lily's and always would be. Everyone knew that James really did love Lily no matter how much he teased her, well everyone but Lily that is.

The girls entered the train just as it was starting to pull away. They took made their way towards their usual compartment in the front. It was the way things were, the Debs in the front, Fab 5 in the back. That way they wouldn't have to run into each other. Everyone knew that the two groups had their own special reserved compartments; at least that is what Keira thought. They were in for a surprise when they pulled open the door and sitting there on "their" seats was a brown haired girl reading a book. They stood there for a few minutes staring at her until Jess finally let out a small, "Ahem" to which the strange girl finally looked up.

"Ok so I'm going to just assume that you've been sleeping under a rock for the past six years, and that's why you don't know that this is our compartment, so I'm going to let it slide that you are in here." Jessica snarled out as the girl stood up and was about to introduce herself. Jess was in no mood to deal with anyone, especially since she had seen the boys making their way down to their usual compartment, right across from Riley, Emma, Lily, Bella, and Grace.

"Chill Jess." Maddie snapped under her breath as she pushed by Jessica and stuck out her hand to introduce herself to the girl who seemed all of three seconds away from hexing the lot of them.

"Hi I'm Maddie." She then proceeded to introduce the rest of the girls.

"I know who you are; we're in the same House, and almost all the same classes. I'm Ellie. Don't feel bad, most people don't know who I am." Ellie added when she saw a look of embarrassment make its way onto the girls' faces. "I know this is your compartment but you guys weren't here yet, and there was no where else for me to sit. I can leave if you want." Ellie started to gather her things and head towards the door when

Jess put her hand across the doorway and stared at the girl.

"No, you can stay here. It's fine." Jess said in a condescending tone. She figured that if this girl spent a little time with the Debs, it was another girl to add to their "fan base". It was clear to Jess that James needed a girl who was not only well known, but well liked, and Jess was determined to make sure that everyone thought that she was the sweetest girl at Hogwarts, no matter what it took.

"Ok then." Ellie rolled her eyes at the girl, knowing exactly what Jessica was thinking. Ellie just let it all roll of her back and took her seat near the window and watched the clouds. The other girls watched her in silence for a few moments, before starting a conversation on how their Quidditch team would fair this year.


	5. The Boys

Meanwhile in the back of the train, Lily, Grace, Emma, Riley, and Bella were getting themselves settled for the ride back to school. The girls had a tradition; Riley got shattered, while Emma and Bella took hits off of Bella's pink and purple pipe that they had all stolen when they were shopping in a muggle thrift store. Grace, who was usually the life of the party kept to herself, attached her prefects badge and drank from her flask, that is, until the boys came. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were easily the best looking guys at Hogwarts, well at least James, Sirius, and Remus were. There was something about them that led the whole school to fall under a trance. Remus was a prefect, James was a Quidditch God, and Sirius was just well, Sirius. Everyone just assumed that Peter had walked in on the boys doing something terribly illegal and the only way he'd keep his mouth shut, was if he was allowed to be in the gang.

James walked in first and sat down right next to Lily, and put his arm around her. Lily rolled her eyes and threw his arm off of her just as the three remaining boys were taking their seats. Peter sat on the floor, Sirius next to the door, and Remus next to Grace. The boys brought out their fire-whiskey and made themselves comfortable. Remus turned to Grace and started whispering into her ear, and instantly a smile crept upon her face. She turned from the window she had been staring out of, and threw her arms around Remus in a loving, brother to sister hug. James looked on and wished that he was able to do that with Lily. He had fallen in love with her in their second year, as soon as Grace and Bella introduced her into their world.

James had known Remus, Grace, Bella, and Riley since they were toddlers. He had never met Grace's parents, he didn't think that Bella had even met them, but he knew that their parents ran in the same circle. Remus had met Grace at a play group when they were younger, and his nanny had invited Grace's to come and play with the boys. Grace's nanny brought Bella's, and the rest was history. Riley's summer was right next door to James' and since her parents usually left her their with the drunk nanny when they returned back to Ireland, James' mother and father had opened up their home to her. Maddie was a sick child and was never far from the family doctor who lived with them in their estate in Dublin, so James had never really gotten to know her. It wasn't always easy for the girls, James, Sirius, and Remus were very protective of them. Neither of them had ever been dumped because not only were no boys stupid enough to dump the beautiful Grace, the bitchy Bella, or the wild Riley, but they knew that if the girl's hearts were ever broken, the boys would have to deal with whoever broke it. James and Grace had dated once when they were younger, they were each others first kiss, as were Sirius and Riley. Grace and Remus had never dated, although everyone thought they eventually would, but it never happened. They had become sort of siblings, all of them. They had always had counted on each other for family, and now with the addition of Emma and Peter, the family had expanded, and James' loved it.

Lily though, was someone he wanted to be actual family with. Although James' would tease her to no end, he absolutely adored her. Lily cared for James too; she was just entranced with the thrill of the chase that the road to her heart was going to be filled with twists and turns that James would carefully have to maneuver through.

About halfway through the train ride, Grace and Remus left to attend to their prefect duties. Peter left saying that he had to use the bathroom, and Sirius made up some lame excuse about having to finish homework. This left James, Bella, Riley, Emma, and Lily all alone in their compartment. Bella decided that it would be best to give the Lily and James a moment alone so she got the girls to agree on a trip to find the food trolley. Lily gave the girls a death stare as they exited the compartment and slowly turned back around to James.

"Ah alone at last my dear Lilyflower" James chuckled as he tried once again to put his arm around Lily. "How was your summer?" 

"James, urgh, get off of me. You know perfectly well how my summer went; I spent most of it with you." 

"Yes, now that you mention it, I do seem to recall a very nice, itsy bitsy, bikini that you looked amazing in" James scratched his chin as if in deep thought. "It was very flattering" He quickly added seeing the look on Lily's face, knowing that he needed to say something to get her to stop glaring.

"James Potter, you are…the most…horrible feckless thug I have ever met. Get off of me, and get out of my compartment. All you boys are all the same. All you care about is how good a girl looks in a short skirt and bikini. I'm sick of it, and most of all I'm sick of you."

Lily stood up and threw James out onto the train's hallway. She sat back down and blushed; she loved it when James' complemented her, although she wasn't going to let him know that. James picked himself off of the floor just in time to see Sirius enter a compartment with a strange girl.


End file.
